Shocking number of 8th graders don’t think fentanyl is dangerous — even though it’s a leading cause of death: study

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · Aug 05, 2026 · 546 words · By Alex Oliveira

Youth Education/Awareness Public Health Crisis

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What to know about Youth Education/Awareness

Shocking number of 8th graders don’t think fentanyl is dangerous — even though it’s a leading cause of death: study See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 3

Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Shocking number of 8th graders don’t think fentanyl is dangerous — even though it’s a leading cause of death: study See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google A shocking number of American 8th graders don’t think fentanyl poses a great risk to their health — despite the dangerous drug being the third leading cause of child deaths.

Common ground

Just 48% of 13 and 14-year-olds said taking the drug one or two times posed a great risk to their health in a July survey published in JAMA Network Open.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Youth Education/Awareness story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Fentanyl — an extremely powerful synthetic opioid?
How does this story connect Youth Education/Awareness with Public Health Crisis over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/05/us-news/shocking-number-of-american-8th-graders-do…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 80% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

verified Verified By Reference 3

check_circle Corroborated 3

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified

Claim 1: “Fentanyl — an extremely powerful synthetic opioid”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple cross-references explicitly define fentanyl as a potent synthetic opioid.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — The same goes for psychostimulants, which are the second-deadliest drug category in the US after synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to NIDA.
https://www.dw.com/en/us-strikes-on-alleged-drug-boats-spark…

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cross reference SUPPORTS — I started the research in 2015, when the opioid crisis had entered a devastating new phase—what public health experts now call the third wave, driven by synthetic opioids like fentanyl—and it had ente…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-qa-legal-opium-global-opioid.h…

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cross reference SUPPORTS — Washington dropped part of the tariffs it had imposed on China over the flow of ingredients used to make the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3rz75rgn8zo?at_medium=RSS…

+ 2 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 2: “students with college-educated parents were over twice as likely — 14.7% to 6.1% — to say they didn’t know what the drug was than kids without college-educated parents”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 3: “Just 48% of 13 and 14-year-olds said taking the drug one or two times posed a great risk to their health in a July survey published in JAMA Network Open”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources confirm that a JAMA Network Open survey found 48% of 8th graders (typically 13-14 years old) attributed 'great risk' to experimental use of fentanyl.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — JAMA Surgery is an international peer-reviewed journal, which began publication in 1920. It is the official publication of the Association of VA Surgeons, the Pacific Coast Surgical Association, and t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAMA_Surgery

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and ed…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAMA

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — JAMA Network Open is a monthly open access medical journal published by the American Medical Association covering all aspects of the biomedical sciences. It was established in 2018 and the founding e…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAMA_Network_Open

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 4: “the drug being behind 75% of adolescent deaths — a number which equated to 21 deaths per week in 2023”

SINGLE SOURCE

Only one provided source ('Shocking number of American 8th graders...') explicitly mentions the 75% figure and the '21 deaths per week in 2023' statistic. Other sources discuss adolescent deaths in 2021 but do not corroborate the 2023 specific figures.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid of the piperidine family, used primarily as pain medication. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary clinical use is in pain managemen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fentanyl

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On March 4, 2022, Eric Eugene Richins (May 13, 1982 – March 4, 2022), an American living in the state of Utah, died at the age of 39 from a lethal dose of illicit fentanyl. On May 8, 2023, Kouri Darde…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Eric_Richins

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — There is an ongoing opioid epidemic (also known as the opioid crisis) in the United States, originating out of both medical prescriptions and illegal sources. It has been described by doctors and rese…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid_epidemic_in_the_United_…

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 5: “8.9% of 10th graders saying they were unfamiliar with the drug and 9.9% of seniors saying so”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 6: “more than 16% didn’t even know what fentanyl was”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that 16.6% of 8th graders said they had never heard of fentanyl, which aligns with the claim of 'more than 16%'.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — There are thirteen medical journals published by the JAMA Network, a division of the American Medical Association (AMA). The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), along with JAMA Network…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Medical_Assoc…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence is an American artificial intelligence company that develops a medical search engine used by healthcare professionals for clinical decision support. The company was founded in 2022 by ent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenEvidence

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “Fentanyl was involved in 93% of those deaths”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence discusses fentanyl generally or in California, but contains no data regarding the percentage of opiate deaths in New York in 2023.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The opioid epidemic in the United States has affected California particularly strongly. Between 2017 and 2023, the number of fatalities in California attributable to synthetic opioids increased by 1,0…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_opioid_crisis

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Love in the Time of Fentanyl is a 2022 documentary film by Colin Askey, about group of people who operate a safe injection site in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood of Vancouver. The film was the win…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_in_the_Time_of_Fentanyl

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 8: “64% of 10th graders, saying fentanyl use once or twice posed a great risk and 69% of 12th graders saying so”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the specific percentages for 10th and 12th graders.

schedule

Claim 9: “Hispanic and black students were the most likely to say they’d never heard of the drug”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 10: “the rich and famous have been killed by unwittingly ingesting fentanyl-laced drugs, including singer Mac Miller and actor Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided search results for this claim are about medieval drama and pageant wagons, providing no information about Mac Miller or Leandro De Niro.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Using meticulously crafted replica medieval pageant wagons, in 1977, we recreated the original staging of the York Corpus Christi plays for the first time since they were performed annually in York fr…
https://plsplayers.com/york-plays-2025-wagons-fund/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Texts From Records of Early English Drama The York PlaysA modernization by Chester N. Scoville and Kimberley M. Yates (2003) The Chester PlaysAdapted as an acting text by Alexandra Johnston, assist…
https://plsplayers.com/texts-videos/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · Performing Medieval and Early Modern Drama The Convivium is hosting longtime PLS friend, Professor Emeritus David Townsend, for a talk and reading from his new novel The Ram in the Thicke…
https://plsplayers.com/

help

Claim 11: “the dangerous drug being the third leading cause of child deaths”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny that fentanyl is the third leading cause of child deaths.

schedule

Claim 12: “Kids from urban backgrounds were also less likely to see fentanyl as dangerous than those from rural communities”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 13: “In New York, overall opiate deaths dropped slightly in 2023... but still claimed 5,300 lives”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided search results for this claim are completely irrelevant (electric bikes, music riffs, and psychology questionnaires), providing no information on New York opiate deaths.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gangs of New York is a 2002 epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs of New…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangs_of_New_York

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New York, also called New York State, is a state located in the northeastern United States. Bordering the New England states to its east, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to its south, and the Canadian pro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(state)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States. It is located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 14: “white students were the most likely to view fentanyl as dangerous”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 15: “The JAMA Network study polled 3,820 students from the 8th, 10th and 12th grades”

CORROBORATED

The claim is corroborated by the web search result 'Shocking number of American 8th graders...', which specifies the poll size of 3,820 students from 8th, 10th, and 12th grades.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Government Jobs After 12th for Commerce Students 2026 include many of the same general 12th-level opportunities available to candidates from other streams.
https://fastjob.in/government-jobs-after-12th/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and ed…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/JAMA

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 39: Part of a graduate student career is to attend conferences and give presentations. This is my first poster presentation ever, and I am literally panicking about the fact that I have one day to put…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdUzizXtQt8

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.